The NAEMSP has always had a mission that extends beyond the “national” that is noted in our association’s title. In the past we have contributed to EMS efforts in other countries, but we have also learned much from our brethren in EMS systems around the world. We have been fortunate to have many international members of NAEMSP, and we have an active International Committee.
I am excited to announce that NAEMSP has been accepted as the newest member of the Acute Care Action Network (ACAN) of the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO has focused efforts on infectious and other diseases of global interest, but this initiative aims to improve acute care issues in low- and middle-income countries, and this includes improving EMS in those nations. NAEMSP joins the Laerdal Foundation, International Federation for Emergency Medicine, International Academies of Emergency Dispatch, the American Heart Association, and among more than 70 other organizations that already participate in ACAN.
ACAN is a result of the WHO’s WHA Resolution 76.2 Integrated emergency, critical and operative care for universal health coverage and protection from health emergencies (May 2023) calling for universal access to high-quality emergency care across the world’s population, integrated pathways of care and pre-hospital and hospital emergency unit care delivered by specifically trained healthcare workers.
It has been suggested that up to 50% of deaths across the world each year are due to acute care emergencies, and these can be mitigated by improved prehospital and in-hospital emergency care. ACAN seeks to improve the preparedness for and response to these acute care emergencies in these countries.
According to the WHO, “ACAN participant organizations work across primary, emergency, critical and operative care and have a shared objective of strengthening acute care delivery in low- and middle-income countries through dissemination, implementation and evaluation of WHO tools and resources. Taking a strategic approach to integration across the continuum of care, allows countries to effectively address key high burden conditions such as injury, sepsis, complication of childbirth (maternal and neonatal) and acute exacerbations of noncommunicable diseases.”
These goals include some EMS specific tools and initiatives for developing countries – including those for EMS medical oversight, EMS dispatch, and other approaches to improving ambulance response.
I am excited about this opportunity for us to partner with other organizations from across the world to improve EMS care in developing and middle-income countries. I would like to thank Dr. Erin Noste (Chair, NAEMSP International Committee) for her work on our successful application to this WHO initiative. If you are interested in participating in our efforts with the ACAN can join our International Committee or contact Dr. Noste.
I hope to see many of you at our annual meeting in Tampa in a few weeks.
Yours in service,
Doug
Douglas F. Kupas, MD, NRP, FAEMS
President, NAEMSP